Portable photographic apparatus



(No Model.) I

. W. HARRIS.

I PORTABLE PHOTOGRAPHIG APPARATUS. No. 801,983. Patented July 15, 1884.

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UNITED STATES ATFNT @FFilQE.

WARREN HARRIS, or DANVILLE, vn nioxr.

PORTABLE PHOTOGRAPl-HC APPARATUS- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 301,983, dated July 15. 1884.

- Application filed July 19, .1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: hinging the front to the body of the camera, Be it known that I, \VARREN I'IARRIS, of 'as above described, it can be more quickly adthe town of Danville, in the county of Galejusted and folded and more conveniently car- 55 donia, in the State of Vermont, have invented ried than when the front is separate. The certain new and useful Improvements in .Pho lens may be attached to the camera-front, or tographic Apparatus; and I do hereby declare to a board fitted to an opening in the front, as that the following is afull, clear, and exact deshown in Fig. 2. This opening may be made scription of the same. of the same size as the body of asmaller cam- 60 The object of my invention is to combine era, to which it may be attached, and serve in the highest possible degree portability, as an enlarged extension for taking larger convenience, and protection against light in pictures, or for copying. \V hen folded, the a photographic camera and plate-holder for camera-box is the same length as the plate making pictures on photographic dry plates. holder for the same size plate, and so thin as 65 Figure l is a view of the folding camerato occupy but little space,andis very portable. I 5 box. The top, bottom, and sides are com- Figs. 4 and 5 are views of the combined posed of four pieces of wood, the ends of plate-h0lder and plate-box. I which are square. The top and bottom pieces B, Fig. 5, is a plate-frame partly inserted in extend the whole length of the outside of the the plate-box. On the inside of two sides and 70 box, and the other two pieces are as long as one end is a groove about one-eighth of an inch the width of the inside. The corners are held deep, and wide enough to adinit two plates.

together by hinges, those on two diagonallywith an opaque slide between them to stop the opposite corners being placed on the outside light'and to press them up against the flanges and those 'on the other two corners on the in on each side. The remaining end is composed 7 5 side, to permit the box to fold down sideof two pieces of the same thickness as the wise in the same direction as shown in Figs. flanges. These pieces are let in on each side, 2 and 3. The light is excluded at the corners so that their inner surfaces are even with the by a projection or shoulder at each inside inner surface of the flange, leaving an opencorner covering the joint, which shoulders ing of the same width as the groove forinsert- So are formed on the long or outside pieces, eithing the plates. Now, if two plates are insert- 0 er by rabbeting across the end and leaving the ed in the groove and a slide pushed in between shoulder or by gluing the shoulder on. The them, they might, on being turned with the exclusion of the lightin'this manner is more opening downward, slide out, or in drawing easily, cheaply, and effectively accomplished out the slide the plates might be drawn along 8 5 than by beveling the ends and excluding the with it and cause the film to be scratched light by hinges extending the whole length against the inside of the end pieces. To preot' the corner, because a square corner is more vent this a thin piece is glued on the inside of easily made than a beveled one. Ordinary ,each end piece, close to the end of the plate, hinges are cheaper than those made for this so that the plate cannot be drawn out of the 90 especial purpose, varying inlen'gth for differframe until the slide is withdrawn and the 0 cut-sized cameras, and a solid piece of wood plate is allowed to fall back away from the shuts out light more effectively than a hinge flange. Instead of gluing this ledge or shoulwith joints in it. The beveled corners are der on the end pieces, it may be formed on the also more liable to be split or broken than same piece. The two plates are inserted with 95 square ones. The camera-front is hinged to the film side outward, and an opaque slide is one of the pieces composing the body of the pushed in between them to cut off the light,

box, with hinges 011 the outside to allow it to and also to press the plates up to the flange. fold back against the outside of the. same Theslides may be made of thin wood or card piece. It may be rabbeted to allow a part of board, and'covered with velvet or some other IOO its thickness to shut inside the top, bottom, elastic material to serve in place of. springs;

and sides to hold them in a rectangular poand the covering may be of some non-actinic sition, and apart to extend over the front color to prevent blurring or halation. edges of the same to exclude the light. By The plate-box is as wide as thelength of one of the plate-frames, and as long as the width of two plate-frames, and of a depth varying according to the number of plates to be carried. The plate-box is divided into two similar apartments by a thin movable partition, the ends of which slide in grooves across the middle of the sides of the box. The partition is about onehalf inch narrower than the depth of the box, so that when it is drawn to one side it will leave an open space at the other side large enough to allow a plate-frame to pass through, but when in the center will prevent the frames "from passing on either side. One side of each apartment has an opening which maybe closed by the slide 0, which is shown in Fig. 5 partly withdrawn. About one fourthof an inch outside of this opening is a ledge of wood about one-fourth of an inch high all round, inside of which the back edge v of the camera-lmx slips, and is by it held in a. rectangular position. The plate-box is held to the camera by the pieces of brass D l) and the button 19. The side of each apartment oppositethe opening is composed of two thicknesses of wood with a space between, into which the slide is drawn when the plate is exposed. The slide O is moved back and .l'orth by a narrow piece or rod, F, which passes through a hole in the cover G, which is packed with velvet to exclude the light. The cover G is rabbeted to exclude the light, and is held in place by spring-catches. The two halves of the box are exactly alike, except that one is the revierse of the other.

ll is a spring fastened at the middle to the box, having wires in each end, which pass through the double back ofthe box and against the ends of the plate-frames, to press them up to the opening and hold the plate to be exposed in focus.

I, Fig. 5, is a piece of brass sliding in a groove, in which it is held by the pieces K K.

L L are two levers connected with I at M, and resting on the pins N N, so that they cannot make less than a right angle with I.

O O are pins inserted in the box. \Vhen the slide I is pushed upward, the upper lever raises the spring above, while the lower lever, acting over the pin 0 as a fulcrum, raises the spring on the other side of the box. \Vhen the slide is pushed in the opposite direction, the action of the lovers is reversed and both springs raised, as before.

I is a lever fastened to the box at It.

At S a pin passes through the lever, through the slide I, through a slot in the side of the box, into the center of the sliding partition. When the lover I is drawn to one side, it raises all the springs and draws the partition to that side, leaving an opening on the other side for a plate-frame to pass.

The mode of operation as follows: Two

plates are put in each plate-frame, lilin side outward, with the opaque slide between them. Both apartments are filled with frames, ex cept space for one in one apartment. The end of the box which is full is attached to the camera and the slide O drawn back into the double back of the other apartment. After the exposure is made the slide is returned. The plate-holder is then. detached and held inclined, with the exposed plate uppermost. The levers l? I? are then pressed down, loosening all the springs, drawing the partition to one side, and permitting the plate-frame containing the exposed plate to slide through into the other apartment, making that apartment full. The other end of the box is next attached to the camera, the exposure made, and the frame passed through, as before. Thus all the plates in one side of the. frames are exposed at one opening and all in the other side of the frames at the other opening.

To facilitate the fniuling and exposure of any particular plate and keeping a record oi. the same, each frame is numbered on the middle of each side. In each of the covers is a small piece of red glass, T, through which the numbering on the frame may be seen. The red glass is covered by a piece of brass, U, which can be turned to one side. One of the openings in the plate-holder may be one color and the other of another color, and the sides of the frames of different colors to correspond wit h the colors of the openings.

What I claim as my invention, and for which I wish to secure Letters Patent, is

1. A photographic-plate holder having I we apartments, with an opening for exposing the plates on each side and at opposite ends, suit stantially as described and set forth.

2. In a plate-holder with two apartments,

the double back with an interior space, into which the slide 0 maybe drawn, substantial y as described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a plate-holder with two apartnienls, the interior movable partition, substantially as described and set forth.

l. The combination of slide 1', levers L l, and the movable partition, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a port-able photographicapparatus for taking pictures on dry plates, the combination of folding camera-body, hinged front, plate-holder with two apartments, openings for exposure at each end and on opposite sides, sliding partition, double plate-frames with single grooves, and with shouldersin openings, all substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

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